Running – Page 8 – Serenity Through Sweat

Embrace the Middle Miles

There are a ton of different workouts that make up an effective training program. My Ironman training program consisted of runs, rides, and swims of different varieties including: low impact, interval, endurance, and time trial. Each of these individual workouts has their own important place in the training program and each one has smaller goals and benchmarks associated with it. My favorite goal that spanned across all those workouts, and the one that I find myself coming back to, is embracing “middle miles”

It is human nature to take large complex problems and break them down into smaller manageable chunks. Most of us are generally excited to start a new project or training plan, and approach it with that level of enthusiasm and focus. And, most of us can find that little extra in the tank when we see the finish line ahead. But the “middle miles” when the honeymoon period has worn off but before the finish line is in sight is an easy place to get lost or lose focus in.

The middle miles represent the most challenging part of the activity, but also the most rewarding. The Zen or flow state that runners talk about, that’s only available in the middle miles. But, that state is only available if you can maintain focus and form throughout those middle miles. When new personal records are set, it’s almost always improvement in the middle miles that drives those new records, because there is the most room to improve.

Embracing middle miles can apply to activities outside of fitness as well. That college course, that home construction job, that new project at work, potty training toddlers, are all subject to doldrums in the middle. Embracing that plateau and leaning in to it in the middle is a great way to push through and keep making progress or even breakthroughs.

Next time you find yourself in a training plateau, or you are dragging through a work project, try to embrace those “middle miles” and refocus your effort. There is Serenity to be found in all parts of our life, sometimes it’s just requires a little more focus than others.

Thanks for joining me and stay sweaty my friends

Yesterday’s run focusing on some middle miles, and today’s Serenity Through Sweat focusing on form throwing arrows down range.

Working Out or Training

When I was preparing for Ironman Florida in 2013, I remember enjoying telling people I couldn’t stay out late, or have another beer, or whatever the activity was, because I had to train in the morning.

People that knew about the traithalon community or where familiar with the race understood, but inevitably, someone would ask what are you training for. For me this was a little bit of a way to brag on myself, but it was also a carefully chosen word.

I had a training plan, that was well designed and crafted. I had specific short and long term goals, I was measuring, logging, and assessing key metrics. These were not just a series of physical activity done for their own sake, these were goal oriented, focused, purpose driven workouts.

And there in lies the conundrum. If I was doing an interval ride, or a tempo run, those were both workouts. So when do we cross the line from workout to training? Can an activity be both, or one without the other?

This is a question I think a lot of BJJ practitioners struggle with/can benefit from, and something wrestlers (in my humble opinion) do a lot better with.

In generic terms, here is how I view the two. Workout: an activity done to improve physical fitness. Training: an activity or course of action undertaken in preparation for an event. So the key difference is the specificity of the goal, and I think both are important and both have their place.

Let’s say you are getting ready for the local BJJ tournament. You might set up a training plan that has four days a week in the gym rolling and two days a week with some sort of cross training, lifting weights or running. These could all be considered training because they are planned out, specified, and helping you towards your goal of preparing to compete in a tournament. They are also all individually workouts.

Now let’s look at an individual BJJ class where you don’t have a tournament you are planning for. Based on our earlier definition, it is clearly a workout, but can it also be training? The answer depends on how you approach it. Are you putting yourself in specific positions or situations repeatedly? Then it is probably training. Are you just letting the roll take its own form? Then it is probably a workout. Both are great, just understand what the value of each is.

The same ideas apply to running, riding, lifting weights, etc… Sometimes it just feels good to sweat. (I do a lot of that incase that wasn’t clear, and I’m a huge fan). Other times a more measured and calculated approach is appropriate, and will probably help you reach your goals better.

As January starts to close out, and those new year’s resolutions start to look a little hazier, ask yourself. Are you working out, or are you training? And is that the right choice for today?

Thanks for joining me, stay sweaty my friends.

Today’s Serenity through Sweat: throwing arrows down range at Orlando Archery Academy and then rolling with my homies at Orlando BJJ

Fundamental movements

Thanks for joining me for another edition of the Serenity Through Sweat blog. Today I want to talk about fundamental movements, things that we all do and we all “know” how to do. Or do we…

One of the lightbulb moments in thinking about fundamental movements came when my son started learning how to walk. He was a little later to the party than some of his cousins taking his first steps after his first birthday. As soon as he took his first steps, he wanted to pick things up and carry them.

Parents of small children will instantly recognize the position of a toddler picking something up. It is the functionally correct “ass to grass” neutral spine deep squat. The butt touches the ankles and there is enough stability and power in the position, for someone who literally just started walking, to pick things up and put them down. This motion requires proper hip and ankle flexibility and mobility, and proper sequencing of muscle movement, yet it is fundamental and I would even say genetically programed. Most parents have lost this mobility and flexibility so they aren’t teaching it and the toddlers can’t be modeling a behavior if they haven’t seen it before.

So if proper squat technique is pre programmed and we are born with that mobility and flexibility, what happens as we get older?

The next obvious step for toddlers as soon as they get the smallest bit of confidence walking, is running. Now, unlike squatting most toddlers have seen running and a lot of it is of questionable form. Running is a weird one right. Running is a fundamental movement, but how many people run, and how many people run. Toddlers and the vast majority of us run, but go watch a national track event or an ultra marathon and you can tell there are people running, and they are on a different level.

The vast majority of us have lost the flexibility and mobility that was our genetic inheritance, and have never explored the plethora of information available to enhance these most fundamental of human movements. The good news, is that this is the best time in history for the dissemination of information and there are more resources to improve human performance than ever before.

Whether it is diet/nutrition, running, martial arts, or just basic mobility and fundamental movements, there are plenty of experts who have dedicated their lives to providing education and resources to help us all be better people.

Right now I’m working my way through Dr. Kelly Starrett’s book Becoming a Supple Leopard, and it is a step in the right direction that I would recommend to everyone from aspiring athletes to couch ridden grandparents.

With a little bit of effort we can all start to get better at some of the fundamental movements that define us as humans. What can you do to be a better human today, tomorrow, and the rest of your life? The only way to reach Serenity is through constant forward progress, and probably a little bit of sweat.

Thanks for joining me and stay sweaty my friends.

Today’s Serenity through sweat was a 10k run including a Tour de stade of Doak Campbell stadium

Mastery of the Aircraft

Whenever training on a new aircraft, pilots are put through a rigorous training program consisting of aircraft systems knowledge, training procedures and flows, and ultimately both normal and emergency operations in a simulator. There is a whole slew of things that evaluators look for including ; knowledge, skill, good judgement, proficiency, and mastery of the aircraft. That last item, mastery of the aircraft, is obviously a subjective term, but I think we all know it when we see it, someone who is calm and in control regardless of the scenario, and who can think a few steps ahead.

I was listening to JRE episode #1392 the other day with ultra runner Zach Bitter and it got me thinking about this concept as it applies to athletes. How much training and experience does it take for a pilot to be the master of an aircraft, and how much time do we devote as athletes to being masters of our own bodies?

On the podcast zach talked about his recent 12 hour and 100 mile record breaking performance, as well as his diet and training plan leading up to it. The thing that surprised me the most about Zach was his training based on perceived effort which is an arguably more subjective criteria as opposed to something more objective (like heart rate zone training)

The difference of course is that Zach has put in the time, energy, and effort, and has the discipline to be a master of his body and can honestly and accurately assess his training based on perceived effort. How many of us age group traithloners, or casual BJJ practitioners, can say we have the discipline and understanding to do that?

Yoga practices often remind us to be aware of our breathing and tune in to what our body needs. I’m relatively new to yoga and after about twenty minutes in the hot room the only thing I feel tuned in to, is how much longer I can hold chair pose before my yoga mat has transformed into a slip’n’slide. (Incase the blog title didn’t give it away I’m a pretty sweaty dude) I can’t tell you how many interval runs or rides I’ve done where I’m unable to maintain my interval pace through the final interval. Even with a wrestling background and a lot of competition experience, I still remember going out way too hard in my first BJJ tournament match and almost running out of steam.

Part of the journey towards Serenity through Sweat is being aware of our lack of knowledge of our own body and working to better understand this vehicle we have through life. Working to develop the discipline and putting in the effort to become masters of our “craft”. For me anyway, that journey makes me a better husband, father and friend, and it’s a journey I’m happy to share with all of you. Stay sweaty my friends.

Today’s Serenity through Sweat was my first time through Pavel tatsoulini’s Simple and Sinister kettlebell workout followed by 15 min on the spin bike.

The Lion and the Sheep

We just got done running the Christmas Cookie 5k here in Orlando. It was a beautiful fall morning and the temperatures were perfect for running especially in matching elf costumes.

We ran as a family, my son in the the jogging stroller with me pushing, and my wife setting the pace at 24 weeks pregnant. My son was very excited by all the costumes, the Christmas music, and the promise of cookies at the end. As we bobbed and weaved our way through the crowd, he would alternate between saying walking and running. Personally I won’t try to analyze the word choice of a two year old, and I’m sure there was no malice in it, but, I understand why my wife said she felt bad for people we were passing, who had to watch a pregnant woman cruise past them while her toddler said “walking”

*WonderWoman with baby elf on board and Santa’s helper El Duderino dancing to some Christmas carols to warm up*

My first reaction was very Game of Thrones, “the lion does not concern itself with the opinions of sheep” there is no reason for my wife to feel bad for going out and running her race regardless of the other people around her. (She is my Wonder woman and she is pretty freaking awesome)

At the same time, comparing yourself to someone else and going to a negative place is not productive habit. In some races, or in some gyms, you might be the lion, and in others you might be the sheep. But you can always work to get faster and stronger, and control your reactions to those training around you. You can choose to be negative, or you can choose to be inspired.

Finding Serenity through Sweat is a much more rewarding journey when we feel good about ourselves and when we celebrate the accomplishments of our peers, and the two are not mutually exclusive. Thanks for joining me, stay sweaty my friends.

You gotta begin to begin

Welcome, and thanks for joining me on the journey towards Serenity. I’m enjoying my post run coffee in a small cafe in downtown Greenville thinking about how to start this blog, and I’m struck by the wisdom of Pete the Cat.

Now if you aren’t familiar with Pete the Cat I can tell you he is one groovy dude (and you probably don’t have young kids). But Pete the Cat has been an essential part of convincing my almost two year old to sit on the potty long enough to actually pee. In one particular episode Pete the Cat is procrastinating instead of writing a new song for his band. Pet gets some advice from his older brother Bob and finds the inspiration to write. The episode ends with Pete the Cat and his band playing the new song “you gotta begin to begin” which is esoteric in it’s context of a children’s show but also brilliant in it’s simplicity.

Often times this idea of beginning to begin is the hardest part of working out (or writing a blog, or doing anything that we deem challenging). Once you get the running shoes on one foot follows the other. Getting in the car and driving to the gym is often times the hardest part of the workout. Newton’s first law of fitness (it’s legit you don’t need to fact check it) is that bodies in rest will stay at rest unless compelled by an outside force. But it also says that bodies in motion will stay in motion.

Sometimes you just gotta begin to begin. Strap on those running shoes, throw on your gi, get back in the saddle, or throw around some iron. I’ll bet my last dollar that if you do, you’ll feel better and we can all get a little closer to Serenity through Sweat.

If you want to follow along on my journey towards Serenity through Sweat check out my Instagram @triflyjitzfad. Get out there and find your own Serenity, and stay sweaty my friends.